Apparatus for decorating pottery ware



May 6, 1947. w. J. MILLER APPARATUS FOR DECORATING POTTERY WARE Filed Jan. 21, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 nllll KEN; L

IN VENTOR:

WILLIAM J. MILLER W2 AT?0RNEK y 6, 1947- w. J. MILLER APPARATUS FOR DECORATINC!v POTTERY WARE Filed Jan. 21, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WILLIAM L]. MILLER 9 2 ATT RNEY.

Patented May 6, 1947 APPARATUS FOR DECORATING POTTERY WARE William J. Miller, Swissvale, Pa., asslgnor to Miller Pottery Engineering Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 21, 1943, Serial No. 473,138

14 Claims.

This is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Serial No. 407,733, filed August 21, 1941.

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for decorating pottery ware, glassware and the like. It has to do particularly with applying decorative designs to disc-like ware, such as dinner plates wherein the decoration is first applied to a, material such as tissue paper and then applied to the ware by transfer processes.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 407,733, I have shown and described methods and apparatus for automatically cutting out and applying decoration in the form of decal transfers to disclike ware from a roll or sheet of tissue paper bearing the printed decoration. The rolls were printed separately and when one was used up it would be replaced by hand by another.

The present invention has to do with a machine of the type illustrated in my co-pending application for cutting out and applying decorative designs to the ware in which there has now been incorporated means for printing, drying and supplying decoration such as decal transfers to the cutting out mechanism in continuous fashion, the printing apparatus and the cutting out and applying machinery being fully co-ordinated and synchronously operated.

It is customary to print decorations such as decal transfers on large sheets of tissue paper which are hung up to dry after printing. When dry, the sheets are taken down and carried by hand to the cutting room where manual workers cut out the decorations which are subsequently applied to the ware by other workers. One object of this invention is to eliminate intermediate manual handling of decoration bearing material and decorations between the printing machine and the automatic cutting out and applying apparatus, thereby simplifying procedure and expeditlng the work. The new system also saves time, equipment and space, and minimizes the possibilities for damaging, tearing or smudging the transfer decoration bearing material or the decorations. Another object is to provide a fully automatic and continuous system of decorating ware of the class described wherein operations of printing, drying and applying decoration to the ware are fully co-ordinated in a machine requiring a mini- 2 mum of manual intervention for the operation thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing the preferred form of decoration printing and applying appa- *ratus.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the dryer with one side panel removed in order to reveal the interior.

Fig. 3 is a detail showing change speed gearing of the printing machine drive.

Fig. 4 is a detail showing mechanism for feeding transfer paper through the decoration, cutting out and applying station.

Fig. 5 is a detail of the printing apparatus with certain of the parts omitted.

Fig. 6 is an end-view of the printin roll and knife for spreading paint over the roll.

Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 are detail views illustratin drive mechanism for intermittently operating the printing machine.

Fig. 9 is a detail showing the preferred form of sprocket tooth and perforation for progressing the transfer paper through the dryer.

Fig. 10 is a detail showing a lower cylindrical roll for guiding transfer paper through the dryer. With reference to Fig. 1, the apparatus has an elongated frame I with idler sprockets 3 at each end supporting a double chain endless conveyor 2.

Connected between the chains and equally spaced therealong are ware supports 4 in the form of trays suitable ware releasing mechanism not shown controlled by lever 'l actuated or tripped by a member 8 attached to each carrier thereby releasing and depositing a single piece of ware in each of the ware seats of the carrier.

Upon the next movement of the conveyor, the ware pieces are brought under a size applicator 9 which is lowered into contact with the ware previously deposited on the carrier to thereby apply a sticky coating of size to the ware and upon completion of the operation the size applicator 9 is raised out of engagement with the ware. A detailed description of the size applicator is given in my co-pending application previously mentioned.

After-the sizing operation, the ware is transported between carriers through a drying chamber or tunnel 52 of suflicient'length to provide for drying the size to proper tackiness for raising the decoration. Dry, warm air is circ lated through the chamber and is preferably heated and blown into the chamber through ducts 53.

Upon leaving the drying chamber the carriers transport the ware to the decorating station where, the face of the verge of the disc-like ware is decorated. The machinery for cutting out and applying decorations is described in my co-pending application previously mentioned and will not be described in detail herein. At said station are ware-supporting chucks 59 mounted on top of a cross-head, one for each line of production, and arranged across the head in register with the seats of the carriers 4. The chucks are raised and lowered by cams on shaft 56 and are given a quarter turn each reciprocation. This operation is completed four times while the carrier is caused to dwell at the applying station and after each turn of the ware when the same is raised, a quarter segment of an annular decorative design is applied to the verge of the ware.

The decoration applying apparatus, generally represented at 60 is arranged to cut decoration from decoration bearing material and apply them progressively onto the verge of the ware. Each transfer segment is cut from the sheet by a hollow, vertically reciprocating cutter head generally indicated at I inside of which is a vertically reciprocating applying plunger which performs the operation of applying the cut out decoration to the ware all as more fully described in my co-pending application previously mentioned.

In the present application, as in the parent application the decoration bearing material is intermittently advanced in accordance with the spacing of the decoration segments by reciprocating pawls I02, Fig. 4 having a multiple of ratchet-like teeth engaging a multiple of marginal perforations I04, (Fig. 5) of the paper so as to distribute the pull and avoid tearing the paper between the perforations. Furthermore, the perforations are contained in a strip of heavy tearresistant material I04 adhesively secured to the margins of the tissue paper. As seen in Fig. 4, the pawls I02 are actuated by a cam I05 through levers I06 mounted on a shaft I01 and oscillated by the cam engaging a roller I08 at the end of a bellcrank lever extension I09 of the levers. A spring I I0 holds the lever I09 in engagement with the cam I05. The cam I05 is mounted on shaft 56 on which are mounted the cams for raising and lowering the crosshead 54.

To regulate the amount of intermittent movement of the transfer bearing material, each pawl I02 has an adjustable lost-motion connection. Such connection is provided by an elongated slot III in which is received a pivot rod II2 for the lever I06. To regulate the range of movement of the rod H2 in the slot of each pawl a stop in the form of a screw H4 is threaded into the end of the pawl and extended into the slot.

After the transfers have been applied to the ware carried by a carrier, said carrier is advanced to the left of the decorating station and passes under one or more spray nozzles I10 where water is sprayed onto the paper forming the backing for the decoration to thereby loosen the same and facilitate removal thereof. Upon the next movement of the tray, the ware is brought under one or more nozzles I12 connected with a pressure line where a jet of fluid such as air under pressure is directed over the loosened paper backing to blow the same from the surface of the ware.

The tray is then advanced through a drying tunnel or chamber I14 for the purpose of drying of)? the surface of the ware and thoroughly drying the decoration. After the tray emerges from the drying tunnel, it is inverted as it passes over the sprockets 3 and the plates slide out of their seats and are received by a chute I15 which slides them onto a conveyor I16. The ware is now in readiness for the decorating kiln.

After the trays are emptied, they advance, in inverted position, over a. water spray nozzle or nozzles I11 for washing themoff and are then dried by hot air from nozzles I18.

The means for advancing the conveyor and for driving the various devices of the applying machinery in timed relation is described in detail in my co-pending application and will be described only generally herein. The shaft 56 may be considered as the main drive shaft coupled to a suitable prime mover, or motor, not shown. The conveyor 2 is intermittently advanced in accordance with the spacing of the trays therein by an oscillating lever I80, which is oscillated by a cam I86 on shaft I81 driven by drive shaft 56 through sprocket chain I69. This drive has a four to one ratio in order that the conveyor may advance once in every four reciprocations of the crosshead 54.

Shaft 49 operates a valve 36 controlling the fluid motors 34 for raising and lowering the size heads 9. Said shaft is driven in uniform timed relation with shaft 56 by sprocket chain I93. Sprocket chain I drivesshaft 24 which controls the pumping of size from reservoir I2 into the charging heads 9. Sprocket chain I91 driven off shaft 56 rotates shaft 49' controlling the vacuum and pressure system associated with the applicator I00.

The cutting and applying machinery may be said to have an intermittent motion and the tissue paper bearing the decoration is fed through the applying station with an intermittent action.

The apparatus for printing and drying the decorations is mounted above the lower frame of the machine on vertical frame components 206. A platform 201 supports a printing machine 208, and to the right of the printing machine is a dryer 209.

The printing machine may be of conventional type having a cylindrical copper printing roll 2I0, Fig. 5, on which the decorating designs are engraved. 2 is a lower pressure roll, and 2I2 ,a stationary spreading knife which scrapes over the roll when it rotates and fills the depressions of the roll with the desired coloring material 2 I3, Fig. 6. A roll 2 I4 of tissue paper is supported below and behind the roll 2! and paper is drawn therefrom between the copper roll and the pressure roll and decorative designs printed on the upper surface of the paper as illustrated in Fig. 5. Circular perforations are formed along the reinforced margins of the paper by providing a circle of round radial punches 2I5 at each end of the printing roll and corelative depressions M6 in the lower roll. The perforations are located in predetermined position relative to the decorations printed on the transfer paper in order that said decorations may be accurately indexed with the cutting out and applying apparatus.

As the printed paper issues from the printing machine, it enters the dryer through an enlarged rectangular air discharge opening 2 having a slide valve 2H for regulating back pressure. Said opening is near the top of the dryer sidewall adjacent the printing machine. The paper is received and supported inside the dryer on a series of spaced cylindrical rollers 218 mounted near the top of the dryer on shafts 2l9 journaled in bearings mounted on the dryer framework and all are geared to a drive shaft 220 running along the outside of the dryer to thereby rotate the rolls in uniform timed relation with the printing rolls. Each roll has sprockets or cogs at the opposite extremities, the taper point teeth 2|9' of which, Fig. 9, are half-round in section and engage without tearing in the perforations of the transfer paper to thereby positively progress the transfer paper through the dryer at a uniform pace.

The interior of the dryer has spaced transverse vertical partitions 22l which are suspended from the ceiling and extend downwardly to a point above the floor to allow clearance space for the loops in the paper. Between these partitions are transverse vertical partitions 222 which extend upwardly from the floor to a point below the rolls 2l8 thereby providing a tortuous channel or air duct from the inlet 2" to the outlet 224 in the floor of the dryer below the right end roll through which the paper passes to the cutting and applying machine. The outlet also has a slide valve 224' for regulating back pressure.

On top the dryer is an air heater 225 provided with coils 226 for heating air drawn from outside by the motor driven blower 221 and discharged into the enclosure. The temperature of the coils may be regulated by a valve 228 conveniently located outside the enclosure. I prefer to flow the air from the center of the air duct in two streams, one toward the inlet 2H and the other toward the outlet 224. This provides an air stream flowing counter to the direction of travel of the freshly formed decorations as they enter the dryer and a stream travelling in the same direction as the paper after the decorations pass the upper control part of the dryer.

To produce the counter flow in the left hand portion of the dryer, a nozzle 229 extending transversely of the dryer and suspended from the ceiling thereof blows downwardly between the paper and the partition 22l and this column of air has the efiect of inflating the catenary and preventing the hanging and lower looped end of each course of printed paper from contacting the sides and end of the partitions. Connected by a duct 230 with the air heater and blower is another transverse nozzle 23I located between the center partition 222 and the paper. This nozzle circulates a stream of air counter to the direction of travel of the paper against the unprinted surface thereof. The effect is to balance the pressure on both sides of the paper in the counterfiow zone and check any tendency of the air stream on either side to blow the paper out of position against the partitions. A pair of nozzles 229' and 23! identical with 229 and 23l and similarly located with respect to the remainder of the duct produce parallel streams of air, one on each side of the paper, flowing in a tortuous path toward the outlet. To boost the temperature of the air in any one of the streams mentioned, auxiliary steam coils 232 are mounted on certain partitions and are individually controlled by hand valves 233. The flow of heated air through nozzles-228 and 23! may be shut off or reduced by dampers 234. Damper controls 235 are for reguatling the discharge through nozzles 223 and When the paper leaves the dryer, it passes downwardly and under a flanged, cylindrical roll 84 rotatably suspended below the opening from the dryer frame and then to and under a cylindrical guide roll 94' and through the cutting and applying machinery to a driven winding reel 96 thereby bringing the printed side of the paper opposite the ware. Rolls 94 and 94' are idlers and are smooth surfaced.

The winding reel 96 may be driven by a combination motor and adjustable speed reducer I98 on whose drive shaft I99 is a sprocket 200 connected by a sprocket chain 2m with a sprocket wheel 202 on shaft 203. The shaft 203 is detachably connected to the winding reel to drive same by having a spring pressed clutch on the end of the reel shaft set to take up all the slack in the sheet when first starting to wind and as the roll of paper increases in diameter, the clutch will slip whilst holding the paper taut, all as described in greater detail in my co-pending application.

To drive the printing machine in uniform timed relation with the other apparatus, I provide a sprocket chain 230, driven by a sprocket 231 on main drive shaft 56 which drives continuously a sprocket 238 keyed on the end of shaft 240 of the printing machine. The printing roll shaft 24I and pressure roll shaft 242, Fig. 5, are geared together in one to one ratio and shaft 242 has a cone of gears 243 of a change speed gear drive attached thereto. The cone is selectively driven by tumbler gear 244, driven by gear 245 on shaft 240. The tumbler gear 244 is given a longitudinal and part rotary movement on the bottom shaft 240 as it is moved along to engage each successive gear of the cone of gears and thus change the speed of rotation of the printing and drive rolls. A notched rack 245 holds the tumbler in engagement with the selected gear of the cone.

A uniform co-ordinated drive for the rolls in the dryer is provided by a sprocket 246 on shaft 242 and chain 246' which drives a shaft 241 that is geared to shaft 220 in one to one ratio.

Since the printing machinery operates continuously and the cutting and applying machinery operates intermittently, the last downward course of the transfer paper in the dryer, from the overhead roll to the guide roll 94, forms a compensating catenary, Fig. 1. During intervals when the paper travelling through the cutting and applying machinery is at rest, the catenary becomes elongated as illustrated in dotted lines and when the paper is advanced again, the catenary becomes shortened as illustrated by the full line position.

If desired, the bottom loops of paper in the dryer may pass over idler sprockets 2l8, Fig. 10, to positively separate the adjacent upward and downward courses thereof.

The marginal reinforcement of the paper may be strips of tear resistant paper or fabric glued in place or the transfer paper may be folded over to double thickness to provide added strength.

The present improvements therefore provide a fully coordinated system of automatically producing and applying to disc-like ware, such forms of decoration as decalcomania, colored tissue prints and the like. Said decoration maybe of the character known as underglaze which is applied to bisque ware that is thereafter glazed and fired or the decoration may be applied overglaze.

In case,it is desired to operate the printing machine intermittently in uniform co-ordinated timed relation with the paper advancing mechanism H12, in which event all of' the rolls 2P8, including the right end roller, would be driven thereby intermittently starting and stopping the entire length of printed paper and eliminatin the necessity for a compensatingcatenary, I have provided an adjustable eccentric drive illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8.

In this form of drive, the sprocket shaft 240 would rotate a crank disc 248 to reciprocate a rack 249 and intermittently rotate the gear 250, pawl 25! and gear 252 on roll shaft 242. To vary the amount or degree of rotation of shaft 242, the radial position of the crank pin 253 can be varied by turning the gear segment 254 with rack 255 shiftable back and forth along shaft 240 by hand lever 256.

Obviously, the printing rolls could be continuously rotated and the dryer rollers intermittently by applying the intermittent drive to the rollers 218 only and providing a catenary between the print roll and the.first roll 218 in the dryer.

The catenary is a zone or section where slack is constantly being accumulated and dissipated to compensate for the continuous movement of another zone or section of the uninterrupted length of transfer paper, i. e., the printing and/or the drying zone and the intermittent movement of the paper in another zone or section, i. e., the ware decorating zone.

When a roll of transfer paper is about used up, the leading edge of a new roll may be pasted to the end of the preceding roll in order to avoid threading a new roll of paper through the machinery.

While I have used the term paper to describe the material of which the transfer tape is composed, it will be under stood that other material could be employed such as a fabric and therefore, it will be understood that the term paper is not to be construed as a limitation.

The term decoration as used herein means not only fanciful designs of the same or contrasting colors, but also such things as trade-marks and insignias of various sorts which may not ordinarily be classed as decoration, but which can be printed, dried and applied by the process and apparatus herein disclosed. Therefor, to simplify the verbiage and avoid confusion, I have adopted the term decoration and wish it understood that I use the term broadly as explained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is;

1. The combination with mechanism for feeding an uninterrupted length of transfer paper from a printing zone to and through a drying and a ware decorating zone of mechanism for printing decorations on the paper, mechanism for cutting out and applying dried decorations to ware therebelow and means for operating said mechanisms in timed relation.

2. The combination with mechanism for feeding and uninterrupted length of transfer paper from a printing zone to and through a drying zone, of mechanism for feeding the paper through a ware decorating zone, mechanism for printing decorations on the paper, mechanism for cutting out and applying decoration to ware therebelow and means for operating said mechanisms in timed relation.

3. The combination with mechanism for continuously feeding an uninterrupted len th of transfer paper from a printing zone to and through a drying zone, of mechanism for intermittently feeding the paper through a ware'decorating zone, continuously operating mechanism for printing decorations on the paper, intermittently operating mechanism for cutting out and applying decoration to ware therebelow and means for operating all of said mechanisms in timed relation.

4. The combination with mechanism for continuously feeding an uninterrupted length of through a printing and drying zone, of mechanism for printing transfer decorations on the paper, mechanism for cutting out transfer decorations from the paper and applying the same to ware therebelow, mechanism for indexing the decorations with the cutting out and applying mechanism, means for producing indexing formations in the paper to co-operate with the indexing mechanism and means for operating all of said mechanisms in timed relation.

6. In combination, mechanism for feeding an uninterrupted length of transfer paper between a printing zone and a ware decorating zone in-- cluding means for moving a section of the paper continuously and means for moving another section of the paper intermittently, there being a slack section in the paper therebetween where slack is accumulated and dissipated, continuously operating printing mechanism for printing decorations on the paper, intermittently operating mechanism for cutting out and applying decorations to ware therebelow and means for operating said mechanisms in timed relation.

7. In combination, mechanism for feeding an uninterrupted length of transfer paper through printing, drying and ware decorating zones, mechanism for printing decorations on the paper, a dryer through which the paper travels subsequent to printing having means for heating and circulating airtherein, mechanism for cutting out and applying dried decorations to ware therebelow, and means for actuating all of said mechanisms.

8. In combination, mechanism for feeding an uninterrupted length of transfer paper through printing, drying and ware decorating zones, mechanism for printing decorations on the paper, a dryer through which the paper travels subsequent to printing in a series of loops, means for expanding the loops and precluding contact between adjacent courses of paper, mechanism for cutting out and applying dried decorations to ware therebelow and means for actuating all of said mechanisms.

9. In combination, mechanism for feeding an uninterrupted length of transfer paper through printing, drying and ware decorating zones,

mechanism for printing decorations on the paper, a dryer through which the paper travels subsequent to printing having means for circulating drying air in a direction counter to the direction of travel of the paper and in the same direction as the paper travels, mechanism for cutting out and applying dried decorations to ware therebelow and means for actuating all of said mechanisms.

10. In combination, a printing machine having a continuously driven printing roll for printing decorations on a roll of transfer paper and perforating the marginal edges thereof, a dryer through which the paper travels having continuously driven sprockets for receiving the perforations and supporting the paper, means associated with the dryer for heating and circulating drying air therein, means for driving the printing roll and sprockets in unison, mechanism for cutting out and applying decoration to ware therebelow, intermittently operable mechanism for feeding the paper thereinto and indexing decorations therewith, and means for actuating all of said mechanisms in timed relation, there being a slack section in the paper between the printing machine and cutting and applying apparatus wherein slack is accumulated and dissipated during operation of the apparatus.

11. In combination, mechanism for printing on an uninterrupted length of material, indexed transfer decorations to be applied to ware of the class described, mechanism for cutting out and applying decorations from said uninterrupted length of material to ware therebelow, means for indexing the decorations with the cutting out and applying mechanism and actuating means for operating said mechanisms in timed relation.

12. The combination with means for drawing a strip of material bearing decalcomania trans- 10 fers lengthwise from station to station in a continuous length extending from station to station of printing means for forming decalcomania transfers on said strip at one of said stations and mechanical means for cutting out transfers in successive order from said strip and applying them to potteryware therebelow at another of said stations.

13. The combination with means for moving a strip of material bearing decalcomania transfers lengthwise from station to station in a continuous length extending from station to station of printing .means for forming decalcomania transfers on said strip at one of said stations and mechanical means for removing the transfers from said strip and applying them to ware therebelow at another of said stations.

14. The combination with means for moying a strip of material bearing decalcomania transfers lengthwise from station to station in a continuous length extending from station to station of printing means for forming decalcomania transfers on said strip at one of said stations, mechanical means for removing transfers from said strip and applying them to ware therebelow at another of said stations and a dryer intermediate said stations traversed by said strip of material.

WILLIAM J. m.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,414,856 Bogaty et al. May 2, 1922 1,543,822 Brononder June 30, 1925 

